Any Vermonters have advice on wine shops to visit in the Burlington area? Will be visiting next week and might have time to grab a few bottles.
Dedalus, either at the Pine Street Burlington location or in Stowe
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My brother lives in Essex Junction so I’ve been wine shopping around there. I believe two of the places he uses are Beverage Warehouse in Winooski and Cheese & Wine Traders in S. Burlington.
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I thought this relatively small store had more than a few interesting bottles when I was there this past year -
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I very much second Dedalus. I haven’t been to the one in Burlington but the one in Stowe not only has a great wine selection but is an excellent gourmet market and prepared food spot.
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When I was there for a couple of months last year, I was getting weekly shipments from WDC.
Some of the ski towns, and surrounding areas will have better shops, but I found it slim pickings.
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As mentioned above, Dedalus is one. On Pine Street in the South end of Burlington. I’d guess 50%+ of their selections are Kermit Lynch imports. Good cheese selection and their wine bar is nice.
Also in Burlington, the City Market Coop has two stores - one in the downtown central district (on South Winooski Street) and one in the South End on Flynn Avenue. The Co-op selection is mostly mass-market wines but among the big houses you can occasionally find something interesting. That is where I often get my Patricia Green Reserve PN or Felsina CCR. The Co-op has 10% discount for 6 bottles or more.
Burlington Wine shop on St. Paul along City Hall Park is a nice shop. Nice folks too.
Near Burlington in South Burlington (Dorset Street) is Healthy Living. They have a pretty good selection. 5% discount for 6 and 10% for 12+.
Cheese Traders (also in South Burlington on Williston Avenue) has a larger selection with many boxes of closeout wines, big name wines, and, in the mix, some good and interesting wines. The space is a bit too warm, particularly in winter, so be careful if selecting an older bottle.
Beverage Warehouse is too hot for wine.
Great beer in Burlington - if you are interested. Down Pine Street from Dedalus is Zero Gravity brewery and across the street is Queen City Brewery. Queen City has European style lagers and ales.
Flynn Avenue has Switchback and Burlington Beer Company recently opened with a large dining area.
Down on Lake Street along the waterfront is Foam. Very good IPAs and Sours. Nice to have a stroll on the boardwalk along the Lakefront and then warm up with a pint at Foam. Or have a cold one after an afternoon in the nearby skatepark, if that’s is your interest.
Have fun. Burlington is a great place.
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Essex Junction is actually where we’ll be, but figured Burlington is the place to be for wine shops!
I’ll second Burlington Wine Shop. But I’d really encourage you to try the beer scene in Burlington and surrounding areas. It’s arguably the best in the world. Grabbing dinner and a few beers at Farmhouse is a great call as they have an excellent tap list. But what I’d really encourage you to do is to grab a few beers at City Market and BYO them to Folino’s to accompany some amazing pizza. You can thank me later.
Thanks for the advice - I’m medically DQed from the beer scene or I would definitely get into it.
Ahhhh. Got it. I don’t know if that means that you’re unable to drink hard liquor as well, but right next door to the Burlington Wine Shop is Mad River Distillers. They make their own Bourbon, Rye, Rum, and Scotch. But even better, they have a bar there with talented guys behind the bar. Plus they have bottled cocktails to go.
You can still go to Folino’s or Farmhouse and have a great time. For a fancier meal (where a flannel shirt and jeans is still acceptable) Hen of the Wood is excellent.
My family and I are skiers and we have family in Burlington so we are there a lot.
Are you up there for vacation or to visit UVM?
Wife’s family is from Essex Junction. We haven’t had much time out there since COVID so we finally found a 5-day stretch where we can spend some quality time. We’re going to dinner at a place called Leunigs at the in-laws’ request and Mad River isn’t far from there - might try and do a pre- or post-dinner drink. Cocktails are usually good for me, in fact I prefer them to wine when I’m out especially if the bartender knows what they’re doing.
We have Hen of the Wood in Waterbury scheduled on our last night - the wife has been real excited for that one and now I am too!
I know I’ve been to Leunigs but I can’t recall specifics. It’s popular and right on Church Street. Hen of the Wood in Waterbury is really fun. Take a peek out back at the waterfall…might be too dark this time of year. I know that it’s not like you have an endless amount of time or an endless capacity to consume without getting bombed, but Prohibition Pig is a mile or two from Hen of the Wood in Waterbury and it’s one of my favorite places in VT…great bartenders, great cocktails, great beers. The food is excellent for a pub and they always have the Grateful Dead on the sound system. It’s a regular stop for us on the way back from skiing Sugarbush or Mad River Glen.
We are usually up there for Thanksgiving, but my oldest is home from college for a brief shining moment and we couldn’t make the timing work.
Enjoy the trip.
Thanks for the Prohibition Pig rec - it turns out Mad River is closed when we’re going out to dinner, so will be nice to fill in with a cocktail later in the week. Have a happy Thanksgiving!